New Guide Released to Help Charter Schools Start, Manage Special Education Programs

A new guide to help charter schools start and manage effective special education programs was released June 19, 2012, at the National Charter School Resource Center’s Building the Capacity of Charter Schools: Effectively Serving Students conference, held in conjunction with the National Charter Schools Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Special Education Start-Up and Implementation Tools for Charter School Leaders and Special Education Managers provides critical information in 15 key areas to help serve students with disabilities, including understanding the law, school culture and discipline, hiring and contracting with service providers, staff training, student performance, and working with parents.

The 75-page guide, based on an extensive review of resources and a survey of charter school leaders, also includes sample job descriptions and performance measures, student progress reports, a parent satisfaction survey, and student profile form, among other templates, checklists, and tools.

“Providing the best possible special education services is an essential and complex undertaking for charter schools,” said Kelly Sparks, Resource Center director. “We believe the result of this project is a clear and compact document that helps orient people to the issues and includes the kind of practical tools needed to actually start and sustain high-quality programs.”

Beth Giovannetti and Nancy Opalack of Educational Support Systems developed the guide for the Resource Center under a subcontract with the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. The Resource Center is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.